I guess this is mostly for the teachers on the board. Some of you may be familiar with Asperger syndrome.

My daughter has always had a few peculiar traits, she's always been a bit "OCD".

Earlier this year my wife and I attended a parent/teacher conference. Her teacher mentioned Asperger syndrome and told us that her teacher from last year had made a similar note in my daughter's record. Her last teacher never mentioned it to us, which has me a bit upset. Regardless, her current teacher mentioned that we might want to have her checked (that's 2 teachers).

I mentioned that I had similar issues when I was younger and had been diagnosed with dyslexia. I asked if the school could test her for dyslexia before we proceeded with taking her to the doctors and running through appointment after appointment after appointment.

They had her tested, the counselor performing the test said she passed with no problems (test scores were through the roof) but made a note about Asperger syndrome.

That's three!

So we took her to the primary care doctor who made a referral to CAPES (child psych). I spent 2 hours filling out family history information, along with a ton of questionnaires, followed by an interview between the doctor and myself. They set up another appointment for my daughter to see the doctor on May 2nd. They also gave me some literature to read "Autism Spectrum Disorders" which covers Asperger syndrome.

So my question is, has anyone ever dealt with Asperger syndrome, or children with Asperger syndrome?

Academically, she's doing great, straight A's, Talented and Gifted (TAG) program, math club, etc. I'm more concerned with the social aspect of her condition. She has been seeing a counselor at school, who has helped her develop some coping mechanisms and they seem to be helping with her outbursts, but she still gets anxious and frustrated on a pretty regular basis. So far she has managed to make friends with other kids, which is good, but she's still in grade school.

Any personal insight would be greatly appreciated.

Bel-Cam Jos

04-08-2011, 08:20 PM

I've had several AS students (some high functioning, some less so) over the years. As with all human beings, there's no cover-all for them, but I've noticed some trends and commonalities. Best thing I've found is letting the students in the class know what it means, what they'd expect, that it's not contagious or dangerous, and that the person isn't doing this "on purpose," just that it's how and who they are, how they see the world. See if the school nurse or counselor can talk to her classmates; for the most part, in that context, the kids may handle the situation better.

Mad Slanted Powers

04-09-2011, 08:54 PM

I've had a couple people suggest that I might have it. I probably have some traits. I've not really looked into it much. I'm on another forum for people that are involuntarily celibate, and it seems there are a fair amount of people there that say they have Asperger's.

Glenn Beck had this kid on his show recently. The kid is a genius. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Myy_BBBMG8

Lowly Bantha Cleaner

04-18-2011, 02:14 PM

I've dealt with a couple of students that were diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. Again as Bel-Cam stated, the abilities are varied with each student. Generally, the standout aspect is their social abilities. They tend to be withdrawn more, introverted, and have difficulty making friends, not so much that they are difficult people, but they do not always pick up on the social cues and body language that people have. They tend to take things literally.

Two of the three students I had with Asperger's excelled in certain aspects of the curriculum. One was an A+ ELA and reading student, the other math. The other student was weak in all areas (but he had other diagnoses). From what I heard, the one girl had trouble in middle school making friends--that can be the worst time for them since girls tend to get catty, but she did have one close, understanding and caring friend in my class that sort of knew about her disability and looked beyond that. That was her lifelong friend and one that I think she continues to rely on for friendship and support.

mtriv73

04-19-2011, 08:09 PM

I don't have any direct experience, but I thought of you when I got this e-mail today (parts of it posted below.) It highlights 2 books you may want to check out regarding asperger's and other autism spectrum disorders.

The READING DIVERSIONS BOOK CLUB, sponsored by the Scientific Library, will discuss books focusing on Asperger's Syndrome on Thursday, April 21, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m., in Conference Room D in Building 549 (please note location change for this month). April is National Autism Awareness Month, and Asperger's Syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder.

The Nonfiction selection for this month is Look Me in the Eye: My Life With Asperger's by John Elder Robison. The Fiction selection is The Second Opinion by Michael Palmer. You are welcome to join in the discussion whether you read either or both of these books. Please feel free to bring your lunch.

Tycho

05-25-2011, 02:03 PM

I don't really believe in this sort of thing. People have personality traits. That's it. I do believe they are some people that are obsessive, and They don't have patience to deal with other people. They can't use loneliness, or pretend they are interested in other people. If they do the latter it may be painful for them. However they should try it. They might make friends. I don't think someone doing this should start a relationship with the goal of getting married though. It will become very tiresome day in and day out for a lifelong commitment. Social companionship is good, but social entrapment is torturous.

Cane_Adiss

05-25-2011, 08:10 PM

I actually have Aspergers. It is mostly a social impairment but otherwise I'm pretty normal. There are varying severities but it is a real condition. Most people who know me wouldn't know I've been diagnosed with it unless I told them.

Bel-Cam Jos

05-26-2011, 08:37 AM

I used to believe that things like ADD were just "made up" as well, but I've learned otherwise. Asberger's isn't just a social anxiety or awkwardness issue (although that disorder [S.A.D.] may be closer to "fake" in some people's minds), because it emerges at young ages, often just with parental observations at home, long before the children interact with their peers. And Cane_Adiss is right; there are degrees of it, to where there appear to be no symptoms to notice or severe difficulties.

Cane_Adiss

05-31-2011, 11:51 PM

Actually, I was diagnosed with Asperger's only after I showed signs of social anxiety. Social anxiety is key in an Asperger's diagnosis. Contrary to what you say, many times (myself included) kids are misdiagnosed with other disorders such as autism or ADD because they do not yet show complete signs of Asperger's. I was diagnosed with ADD at a young age and was on a nice assortment of pills (ritalin, paxil, aderol, chlonidine, strattera, zoloft) that overall proved ineffective because they were used to treat only part of the problem. Trust me, ive been to enough psychologists, therapists, counselor's, doctors etc since i was 7 yrs old to know a bit about it. (im 26 now)

sith_killer_99

11-12-2011, 01:10 AM

Update

Well, it's been a long road in working with this. The doctor made a referral to Children's Hospital in Dallas. I went up on day one for an interview and they spent the next day working with and testing my daughter. Today I went back and sat down with the doctors and they gave me the diagnosis...Asperger's.

The doctors have made some recommendations on how to help her to work through her weaknesses and we will continue to build on her strengths. There is a ton of material out there and sifting through it will be much easier with the in-depth analysis the doctors have done.